Complexity
by summerdragonfly
Summary: Uchiha Sasuke left behind everything eight years ago to seek out long-wanted revenge. Now he returns to find the love of his life not alone, but with a child! Sasusaku, please RR! FINISHED
1. Departure

Complexity  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
by summerdragonfly  
  
Chapter I  
  
"Departure"  
  
A/N: w00tness, my first Naruto fic and a Sasusaku ^^ It's going to be an epic, but  
  
a short epic, as in shorter than my usual XD I think I've done a pretty good job  
  
keeping people in character. Of course I do not own Naruto or anything related to  
  
it, I'm just an obsessed fan who likes to write =D Naruto is property of Kishimoto  
  
Masashi-sama =^_^=  
  
"___" ---quotes; dialouge of course  
  
*___* ---Thoughts; what they're thinking  
  
I write in Notepad because I tend to write better using a simple program such as  
  
this, so I won't be italicizing or bolding. Plus I think that's just a distraction.  
  
Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Reviews would be appreciated, kthnx =] Special thanks to  
  
Lyra for being such an inspiration.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sasuke was waiting at THE bench in THE park; the park where he and Sakura had talked  
  
by themselves for the first time, where she told him she loved him, where he admitted  
  
his feelings for her. And now....now where he's going to tell her goodbye. It was hurting   
  
him probably more than it would hurt her but he had to do it, it was the right   
  
thing to do. She'll thank me in the end, he thought.   
  
  
  
He looked up at the moon. It was so bright. He thought of Sakura. Her face,   
  
her attitude, probably everything about her. He loved her so much.   
  
  
  
"Sasuke-kun?"   
  
  
  
Sasuke looked behind him, it was Sakura. Please not now, he thought. Sakura  
  
came up to him, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and sat down beside him.   
  
  
  
He stared at her, her hair was glimmering in the moonlight, her eyes were shining,   
  
she was beautiful. Do I have to do this? he thought to himself. Of course you  
  
do, you idiot.  
  
  
  
Sakura looked Sasuke in the eyes. "So, Sasuke-kun, why did you ask me to meet you   
  
here?" she asked.   
  
  
  
Sasuke stopped staring at her and looked at the moon. Sakura looked at him, and she  
  
could tell there was frustration and sadness in his eyes. "Something wrong, Sasuke-kun?"   
  
  
  
He took a deep breath. "Sakura....."  
  
"Yes?" She smiled at him, and he turned away. Oh Yondaime, not that smile. Not that  
  
face.  
  
  
  
But he had to do it. There was no other choice. "Sakura," he repeated. "I....I've  
  
been thinking, and....we...we....can't see each other anymore....we can't   
  
be together anymore."  
  
Sakura's heart stopped. Everything was obscured around her, she couldn't  
  
breathe properly.  
  
  
  
"Why?" She asked in a trembling voice.  
  
  
  
"Sakura....you know why...."  
  
"Dammit, Sasuke, is this about Itachi again?!" she stood up and tears started  
  
welling up in her eyes. *No...not again...* "Because we've talked about this---"  
  
"You've got to understand," Sasuke tried to stay calm. "What I must do."  
  
Tears were flowing freely down Sakura's face now and her voice shook  
  
dangerously. This was like the time he had left them for the Sound Village. ".....you  
  
know that it won't bring anyone any happiness."   
  
  
  
Sasuke stood up, too. "I thought you knew me, Sakura! I must avenge the clan.  
  
That is my only goal. Up until now....I don't know what's been going on....what  
  
I've been doing....how come I haven't killed him yet...."  
  
"Are you saying----" Sakura struggled with her words. "...that all those times  
  
we spent together, everything we did.....meant nothing to you?"  
  
"....."  
  
"Answer me, Sasuke! Did they have any meaning to you whatsoever?!"  
  
"......"  
  
Sakura said, pain searing her heart with every breath she took, "Why did you bother   
  
being with me....if you....if you never....even loved me...?"   
  
Sasuke did not answer her.   
  
"Don't...don't you... love me, Sasuke-kun..?"  
  
"You know how I feel about you," he said very quietly.  
  
"Sometimes I don't think I do!" Sakura sobbed.  
  
Sasuke continued with immense difficulty, "This is what I have to do. I'm leaving in   
  
the morning. I don't think I'm coming back."  
  
"You'll regret this!"  
  
"I know I won't.."  
  
Sakura couldn't contain herself. She ran up to him and threw her arms around  
  
him in a mad hug, sobbing into his chest. "Please, don't..."  
  
"Sakura." Sasuke sighed, not hugging her back.  
  
"...aishiteru."  
  
"...." Sasuke removed her arms from around him and stepped backward, facing  
  
her. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."  
  
He looked at her one last time, and with a single leap, disappeared into  
  
the darkness surrounding them.  
  
Sakura stood in shock. "Sasuke-kun....Sasuke-kun!"  
  
She collapsed down to her knees and dissolved into sobs. *I didn't....I didn't...  
  
even get to tell him....the good news....*  
  
.:END CHAPTER I:. 


	2. Change

Complexity  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
by summerdragonfly  
  
Chapter II  
  
"Change"  
  
A/N: I'm going to assume that Sakura and Ino are on speaking terms. ^^ Not friends  
  
necessarily, but just not at each other's throats anymore. In this chapter, eight  
  
years have passed since the last incident, and the gang are all twenty eight years old.  
  
Um...just for some reference to those who don't know Japanese:  
  
Okasan=mother  
  
Ojisan=uncle  
  
NOT to be confused with:  
  
Obasan=aunt  
  
Ojiisan=grandfather  
  
Get it? Great. ^^ I use quite a bit of Japanese it here, but it's nothing that isn't  
  
self-explanatory from context. Enjoy!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
EIGHT YEARS LATER.  
  
All of Konoha was buzzing, the news of a bloody, ragged, barely-alive-and-seemed-like-he-  
  
was-going-to-drop-dead shinobi at the gates of the Leaf Village had spread. He was too badly   
  
injured for medics to identify him yet, but the rumours were that he was no older than 27-28.  
  
And one thing was for sure....  
  
A Leaf forehead protector was found on him.  
  
Since there were numurous shinobi in the Leaf, this did not help the medics out much. At least   
  
they knew that they were not treating an enemy.  
  
"Ne, ne, you know what everyone's saying about that guy?"  
  
"I know! I couldn't believe it either...."  
  
"Do you really think it's HIM?"  
  
"Maybe, they won't even know until they clean him up."  
  
"Impossible.....not....HIM..."  
  
"Nah. Probably just a gossip."  
  
"Yeah, well, whatever it is, I would hate to be Haruno Sakura now...."  
  
The woman named Sakura stopped walking as she heard these words. The women who were   
  
gossiping did not seem to notice that she was there. That is, until she spoke to them.  
  
"Excuse me, but did I just hear my name?"  
  
The women looked mortified. One of them stammered nervously, "Er....um...."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.  
  
"You...haven't heard?"  
  
"Heard what?"  
  
"About that mystery ninja that appeared here---"  
  
"Yes, I know about that." Sakura was never one who paid attention to any rumors.  
  
"Ah, well....the thing is...." The woman then whispered something to her friend, who nodded gravely.   
  
They did not understand why Sakura did not hear the rumors. "Nothing much, really."   
  
she said. "We were merely discussing the people we admire in this village, that's all."  
  
"Uh huh...." Sakura said slowly, but she smiled. "Domo arigatougozaimasu."  
  
She continued walking, still convinced that there was something going on. She didn't  
  
get far, though, when a blonde figure came running toward her.  
  
"Sakura!" It was Ino.  
  
"Ino?" Sakura was surprised to see her. "What's wrong? Why are you in such a rush?"  
  
"You've---you've got to come with me---" Ino panted.  
  
"Wait, slow down," Sakura said. "What's happened?"  
  
"Did you hear about that person that----"  
  
"Yes, yes, I know, almost dead and staggering at Konoha's gates," Sakura said impatiently.  
  
"Now what's going on?"  
  
"They've identified him!" Ino was unsure how Sakura would take this news.   
  
"So? Why would I care?" Sakura asked truthfully.  
  
"Because---because---well, Sakura, I think that you would care!"  
  
"Why? Would you just tell me who it is?"  
  
"Sakura, oh---it's---it's---"  
  
* * *  
  
"Uchiha Sasuke," Tsunade said in a serious tone, glancing over her shoulder at the  
  
unconcious man lying in the coma. "Would you believe it? Uchiha Sasuke."  
  
"Hokage-sama," said the medic Tsunade was talking to, "Are you sure it's him?"  
  
"Yes, I'm sure, there's no doubting it." Tsunade nodded. "Tests have come back  
  
from the lab, and it's definitely him all right."  
  
"He's...alive," the medic said in awe.  
  
"Yes, and it's a miracle too," Tsunade examined some papers. "Three hits to  
  
his critical areas.....my goodness,"  
  
"Should I alert his former friends? Kakashi-senpai maybe?" the medic asked.  
  
"No," Tsunade sighed. "My feelings tell me they will be here soon enough. Words  
  
spreads like wildfire here in Konoha."  
  
And no sooner had she said these words did Uzumaki Naruto, now a Jounin, burst  
  
through the door, followed by Hyuuga Hinata, Rock Lee, Nara Shikamaru, and a number  
  
of other ninjas, including Hatake Kakashi, all of them looking extremely worried.  
  
"Hey Tsunade!" The one called Naruto yelled. "I got here as soon as I can---"  
  
"How many times must we tell you?!" The medic said angrily. "Address her honorship  
  
as Hokage-sama!"  
  
"Whatever!" Naruto said, shoving the medic aside, and looking anxiously at Tsunade.  
  
"It's really him?"  
  
"Hai, it is," Tsunade said. "And he's going to be fine. He just needs a lot of  
  
rest." She turned toward Kakashi. "Does....she know?"  
  
"....no," Kakashi replied. "Not yet."  
  
"Someone's got to tell her." Tsunade said. "She can't go without knowing. You  
  
know she can't."  
  
"Ino," Shikamaru suddenly said. "Ino's gone off to tell her."  
  
"Yamanaka Ino?" Tsunade said in surprise. "Well, not my choice of people,  
  
but they are getting better nowadays..."  
  
"I'm just worried about how she'll take this," Kakashi said sadly. "She went  
  
into a depression ever since those years ago and hasn't really recovered."  
  
"Sakura is a strong woman," Tsunade said confidently. "We must believe in  
  
her."  
  
* * *  
  
"Well?!" Ino said incredulously. "Aren't you going to see him?"  
  
Sakura looked away and said nothing. The shocking revelation that her former   
  
love was now back in her life and inches away from death was not comforting. Not at  
  
all.   
  
"Sakura," Ino said gravely. "Look, I---"  
  
"No, Ino." Sakura turned back towards Ino with burning eyes. "I'm not  
  
going to see him. Not like this I'm not."  
  
"But---"  
  
"You know how how much he hurt me when he left. You know how much I struggled.  
  
I'm still struggling now. Do you think it's easy to me for to see him again?"  
  
"......"  
  
"Besides, I don't think I could contain myself if I saw him in a coma and all  
  
bloodied up. No more. Not again. Not ever again."  
  
"But, Sakura---" Ino persisted.  
  
"I said no," Sakura said. "When he's better and decides he wants to visit, then tell him   
  
that's when I'll agree to see him."  
  
"How will you tell him....about...you know..." Ino asked.  
  
"I don't know." Sakura sighed. "But I doubt he'll visit me anyway. Being the selfish  
  
jerk that he always was, he'll probably just sneak away again, with no regards  
  
to the people that helped him. He did it once, it'll be easy enough to do it again."  
  
"For heaven's sake, he has to know, Sakura!" Ino started to lose her temper. "You  
  
know that it's important to him!"  
  
"Not if he doesn't find out," Sakura replied calmly.   
  
"But he has to find out about his----"  
  
"Ino," said Sakura in a final sort of tone. "I've made up my mind. If he does decide  
  
to prove me wrong and shows up, then I'll find someway to let him know. A way  
  
that doesn't hurt any of us, okay?"  
  
"Fine," said Ino, disappointed. "But if he wakes up and asks for you---"  
  
"...." Sakura paused. "Tell him....tell him that....I'm not the person he once  
  
knew."  
  
* * *  
  
Two months have passed since Uchiha Sasuke appeared back in Konoha again. He  
  
awoke for the first time after two and a half weeks of being unconcious and  
  
was slowly recovering. By the time eight weeks had passed, he was back on  
  
his legs and although leaning on crutches, could walk.  
  
"Oy, Sasuke, where are you going?" asked Kakashi, who was there conversing  
  
with some doctors about Sasuke's condition.  
  
"None of your business," Sasuke replied curtly.  
  
"You're not going anywhere unless I say so. You're in condition to be  
  
walking around and---"  
  
"Shut up." Sasuke said. "I'm going and you can't stop me."  
  
Kakashi realized something. He had been a mentor to Sasuke for all these  
  
years, and knew him very well. Unless he was very much mistaken, Kakashi  
  
was sure where Sasuke was going, and mentally decided it was for the  
  
best.  
  
"Fine then," Kakashi shrugged. "Leave."  
  
Sasuke scoffed and continued out the door.  
  
"Send her my regards," Kakashi said as Sasuke exited.  
  
*How did he know....* Sasuke thought angrily. *That damned bastard....*  
  
To Sasuke this was a mission. One that was ridiculously hard to do. Every  
  
fiber of him wanted to see Sakura again, to see her bright smile across  
  
her lovely face lined with the most charming features. And those eyes.  
  
He always remembered those eyes. The most gentle light emerald eyes that  
  
ever reflected starlight.  
  
*This is harder than I thought it would be.* Sasuke thought, then comtemplated  
  
something.   
  
*....I....sure have changed.*  
  
He hoped that she still lived where she did eight years ago. He stood outside  
  
her door for what seemed like an hour, racking his brains for things to say.  
  
His heart sank horribly when he thought about her reaction to him. She hadn't  
  
even been to visit him. That must mean that she hasn't forgiven him. She  
  
must've been holding him in contempt all these years.  
  
He wanted to say to her, "Sakura, I've done it! I've killed Itachi....it  
  
wasn't easy but I did it...and now...."  
  
He couldn't even finish the sentence in his head. He remembered the special  
  
jutsu he had used to kill Itachi. Normally it would've killed the user, yet  
  
this one was special. Invented by an unknown shinobi a long time ago, it could be used  
  
to kill someone and potentially take the user's life, if he didn't have anything  
  
important to him. It was not to be used by ruthless shinobi but only those  
  
with a heart, those who had special people close to them. Just thinking and  
  
loving those people while using that jutsu would take the enemy's life, had  
  
he been weakened. Sasuke had used up a large amount of chakra beating  
  
Itachi down, and they were both weak when he used up the last of his chakra  
  
with the jutsu, which had a very low chance of surviving. But he had done  
  
it....he had loved Sakura enough to survive.  
  
And he still did. He did love her as much as he ever did. He had once thought  
  
that feelings, emotion and compassion made people weak. But the use of the  
  
special jutsu showed him the complete opposite. Maybe...maybe now....he could  
  
try being a little more caring?  
  
He still stood outside her door, pondering what he was going to say. Suddenly  
  
he heard a noise and the door opened. Out stepped a person.  
  
Sakura.  
  
They both froze and looked at each other for a full minute. Neither knew  
  
what to say, nor what to do. They just stared. And stared. And stared.  
  
Finally Sakura broke the silence. "So...you're back."  
  
Sasuke was disappointed. He had expected something else. "Yeah..."  
  
"Well, nice to see you again," Sakura tried to stay indifferent, but  
  
inside her feelings screamed at her to throw her arms around him and  
  
totally break down on his shoulder. But she contained herself.  
  
"Sakura," Sasuke said quietly, walking up to her close. "I've missed  
  
you."  
  
Sakura didn't know what to say. "Well...I've missed you too, Sasuke-kun."  
  
she thought she sounded a bit lame.  
  
Sasuke was feeling bad now. Did she no longer love him? *Well, I'd deserve  
  
it.*  
  
"How have you been?" he decided to start out small.  
  
"Good," she said plainly. "You?"  
  
"....holding up." Sasuke was feeling worse and worse by the minute.   
  
"So, you've done it, huh?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Killed your brother. Had your revenge."  
  
".....yes." He sounded like a complete jerk. But what other way was there  
  
to say it?  
  
"Congratulations. Guess you got what you always wanted."  
  
"........"  
  
"Um," Sakura said, hopelessly trying to get away from this akward situation. "If you'll   
  
excuse me, I'm on my way to the supermarket, so, I've got to be going..."  
  
"Sakura, look I---" Sasuke began, but the door opened again.  
  
A little boy of about five appeared at the door. He had dark eyes and dark  
  
hair. He tugged on Sakura's skirt. "Okasan, you haven't left yet?"  
  
*OKASAN?!* Sasuke thought wildly. He looked at Sakura, extremely confused.  
  
"Who's he?" The little boy asked, looking up at Sasuke, mildly surprised.  
  
Sakura thought this was extremely uncomfortable. "Um....er..."  
  
Sasuke didn't say anything. He looked back and forth between Sakura and  
  
the boy, who he thought looked so much like him the resemblance was  
  
uncanny. He could've passed for Sasuke's younger self.  
  
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said in a tiny voice. "This is...this is Takeshi."  
  
Sasuke still didn't say anything.  
  
"Takeshi, this is Sasuke Ojisan. Say hello." Sakura said very quietly.  
  
"I've seen you before," Takeshi said, looking at Sasuke with those  
  
dark eyes. "My mother has lots of pictures of you two together."  
  
"Your moth---" Sasuke turned toward Sakura. "What's this all about?  
  
He's your---your--"  
  
"Hai, Takeshi is my son," Sakura said, now blushing very hard. *This is  
  
a lot harder than I thought it would be! Dammit, I was determined not  
  
to show him any weakness!*   
  
"Your....son...." Sasuke said slowly. So Sakura had a son. This went  
  
beyond any of his wildest imaginations.  
  
"Okasan, will you get dangos for me then?" Takeshi moved on, just  
  
like a child.  
  
"Yes, yes, of course," Sakura smiled.   
  
"All the kids at the Ninja Academy liked them when you put them  
  
in my lunch last time."  
  
*Ninja Academy?* Sasuke thought. *Wait...just what the hell is going   
  
on here?* "Ninja Academy?"   
  
"Yeah, I'm training to be a ninja like Naruto Ojisan! Okasan's  
  
a ninja too!" Takeshi said excitedly.  
  
"......yes I know," Sasuke said, still shocked.   
  
"Well, remember to do well in your final exams, all right? I want  
  
to be able to cook a big feast for my little next week."  
  
Sakura grinned again.  
  
"How old is he?" Sasuke asked.  
  
"Seven years old," Sakura replied. "Going on eight in a couple of months."  
  
"....and he's...already...."  
  
"...graduating from the Ninja Academy. I know, I was surprised too." Sakura  
  
ruffled Takeshi's dark hair.  
  
Now that Sasuke was so into the conversation, Sakura couldn't bear to leave  
  
him outside while she ran errands. She summoned up all her nerve and asked  
  
him, "Would you like to come with me? We could....catch up..."  
  
"Sure." Sasuke shrugged.   
  
"Can I come too?" Takeshi piped up.  
  
"No, don't you have shuriken practice with Hinata-sensei this afternoon?"  
  
Sakura asked.  
  
"Nope, she said I was good enough."  
  
"What about---"  
  
"Please? Can't I go?"  
  
"How about spending time with Naruto Ojisan?"  
  
"He's gone off peeping with old man Jiraiya again," Takeshi said.  
  
*Damn Naruto....exposing such a child to something so obscene at such a   
  
young age....* Sakura sighed. Now that Sasuke was here, she was determined  
  
to keep her cool, let him get the feeling that she was indifferent. But  
  
the problem was, she really wanted to talk to him again, like TALK, about  
  
everything that had happened. To just leave him standing there would be  
  
rude.  
  
"Well," Sakura finally made up her mind. "Now that Sasuke Ojisan is here,  
  
I can't just leave him standing out here, can I?"  
  
Takeshi just blinked.  
  
"Tell you what," Sakura handed her son a bag of money. "Here's some yen,   
  
why don't you take it down to the market and buy Okasan some tomatoes  
  
and celery and you can have the rest to yourself, that sound good?"  
  
Takeshi seemed to agree. "Okay," he said. "Anything I want?"  
  
"Yes, but make sure you get the vegetables first." Sakura said strictly. "Wakarimasuka?"  
  
"Hai, wakarimasu. Ja, Okasan." And he was off.  
  
Sakura watched him go fondly when she suddenly realized that Sasuke was still there.  
  
She blushed. "Um....would you like to come in?"  
  
Sasuke nodded, still thunderstruck from this news. As he stepped into the tidy house, all that was running through his mind was *She has a kid?! Holy crap! Who's...who's the father...Maybe it's me---* He shook his head. *Don't get ahead of yourself.*  
  
"Is there anything I can get you? Coffee? Or tea? Do you prefer water?" Sakura tried to stay calm, but her nerves were getting the best of her.  
  
"Water is good, thanks," Sasuke replied, and Sakura rushed off toward the kitchen.  
  
"So how did you do it?" Sakura could not resist asking.  
  
"Do what?"  
  
".....you know....kill....him."  
  
"Oh." Sasuke didn't know how to say it simply. He decided not to tell her that it was actually her that motivated him to finish off his brother. He finally settled on a good, plain explanation. "Forbidden jutsu."  
  
Sakura scoffed silently. *Figures.* Her feelings about him were mixed. Half of her wanted to kick him out of her life forever, the other half wanted him back. The good half had caused her to invite him in, the second caused her to want to spit in his drink.  
  
"Here you go," Sakura handed him a glass of water, completely spit-free. Her good side had gotten the best of her.  
  
"Your son," Sasuke said quietly. "He's..."  
  
"A very fine boy," Sakura said nervously, knowing what direction Sasuke was heading in.  
  
"Is he a talented ninja?" Sasuke asked.  
  
"Oh yes," Sakura said proudly. "You would say he's the...number one rookie." She blushed more and more.  
  
Sasuke didn't know what to say. Memories were flooding by his mind the more he looked at her. But he had to ask the inevitable. "Sakura, who's the fa---"  
  
Suddenly then, the door burst open. Naruto came in, a large grin across his face. "OY! Sakura-chan! Where's Takeshi? We just found out that the ladies' changing room at the training center had a door that had a broken lock! Jiraiya and I want to go check it out!"  
  
"Then go by yourselves, baka!" Sakura yelled. "I do not wish for you to expose my child to  
  
such things!"  
  
"Relax, Sakura-chan, it's all natural!"  
  
"You can go tell that old idiot that I don't care that he's a ledgendary Sennin, I'll kick his ass if he dares to show such things to my son---"  
  
"Sasuke's here, too!" Naruto said, cutting Sakura off. She was surprised at how calm he was at this, pretending like Sasuke never left. She could never do that.  
  
*Sasuke...just what are you playing at...* Naruto thought. Why would he come back to Konoha now and giving Sakura false hope? Naruto didn't like it at all.  
  
"Naruto, did you know about this?" Sasuke asked seriously.   
  
"About what?"  
  
"Sakura, and her son."  
  
"Yeah...so?"  
  
Sasuke decided he would rather find out from Sakura herself, so he stopped there. "Nothing."  
  
"Naruto," Sakura said. "I've got some things I need to take care of tomorrow, and I won't have time to do jutsu training with Takeshi. Do you mind?"  
  
"Gomen nasai, Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "But tomorrow I'm going out on a new mission and I won't be back for a couple of days,"  
  
"Oh," Sakura said. "Well, I suppose we could skip it for once..."  
  
"...." Sasuke could not believe what he was about to do. "...I'll do it."  
  
Naruto and Sakura both looked in his direction. "What?" They said together.  
  
"I said I'll do it," Sasuke said akwardly. "Gives me a chance to...get to know the kid." He shrugged.  
  
"Really?" Sakura's eyes lit up. Sasuke had not seen them like that for a long time. "You mean it?"  
  
"Whatever." Sasuke said, but nodded.   
  
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura went up to him and hugged him. "Doomo arigatougozaimasu!" she said happily.  
  
"...you're...welcome." Sasuke had not been this close to her for a while, and he did not want to let go.  
  
Naruto grinned. *Those two....*  
  
However, Sakura realized what she was doing and let go. "G-Gomen..." she said, embarrassed.  
  
Sasuke just looked at her.  
  
.:END CHAPTER II:. 


	3. Bonding

Complexity  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
by summerdragonfly  
  
Chapter III  
  
"Bonding"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Within a week Sasuke was off his crutches and was as good as new. His progress was  
  
no shock to anyone, since they did know of him and his strengths. They were glad  
  
to have him back. They didn't---no, refused---to question his reasons for leaving,  
  
and his strange reappearance. The only people who did know the truth behind him  
  
were his closest friends.  
  
Sasuke even surprised himself. Often times he found himself thinking of Sakura  
  
more and more, and planning conversations with her ahead of time. As he stood  
  
outside the gates of the Ninja Academy waiting for her son, Takeshi, like he  
  
promised her, he thought about her smile and her eyes, how they had shined with  
  
happiness, unlike the night when he left her, crying and full of tears....  
  
*That's in the past now.* He told himself. *Don't dwell in the past.* But even  
  
he himself did not know where he was going. He recognized himself as miraculously  
  
changed. Never, six, eight, ten years ago did he dream that he would be the  
  
person he is now....  
  
And Sakura. What exactly did he feel for her? Did he still love her? Did he  
  
ever love her? He cared about her, of course, but his feelings were still unclear.  
  
Eight years had changed him a lot....and it had changed her too.  
  
As the familiar Ninja Academy bell rang announcing the end of the school day,  
  
Sasuke oddly wondered why he volunteered. Sakura...he couldn't bear to let her  
  
down again.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow!" Takeshi said to his friends as he ran out. Strangly,  
  
he looked almost indistinctible from Sasuke as a child. He was even as happy  
  
as Sasuke was when he was seven, before that dreadful incident...  
  
"Let's go," Sasuke said curtly to Takeshi the moment he saw him. "Training  
  
begins now."  
  
"Now?" Takeshi said incredulously. "Don't I get some food or something?"  
  
".......didn't you already have lunch?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.   
  
"Naruto-ojisan tells me to eat plenty of food," Takeshi said.  
  
*Naruto...that total moron.* "Come on, let's go." Sasuke said, obviously  
  
not used to being around young children. "If I decide that you're doing well,  
  
I'll give you something later."  
  
* * *  
  
"No," Sasuke sighed tiredly two hours later. "It's snake, boar, HARE,   
  
tiger," he looked impatiently at Takeshi. "Not snake, boar, rat, tiger."  
  
He was teaching Takeshi the Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu, Dragon Fire jutsu, and  
  
so far was not making any real progress.  
  
"Also, your chakra is going all over the place." Sasuke took Takeshi's  
  
hands and made them into the tiger seal. "Focus the proper amount to  
  
the finger tips when making the seal of the flames and concentrate  
  
your brain on releasing the very core of your chakra system. Only then  
  
will the flames come out strongly."  
  
"I was concentrating!" Takeshi protested angrily. "And the hand seals  
  
are hard."  
  
"Well, learn them!" Sasuke said. "If the only thing you can produce  
  
is a mere fireball, then you'll never make it as a ninja."  
  
"I'm eating something." Takeshi said defiantly, going over to the bench  
  
in the park they were training in, kicked the lid off the cooler and  
  
pulled out several snacks his mother had made for him.  
  
Sasuke was about to open his mouth and give the boy a scolding when he  
  
realized that maybe he was overworking the kid. After all, he was only  
  
seven, and Sasuke had been eleven when he had learned the jutsu. And  
  
Takeshi did a perfect Grand Fireball jutsu, so maybe he did deserve  
  
a little break. It surprised him how much Takeshi was alike to him:  
  
hardworking, but rebellious.  
  
"Five minutes," Sasuke said stubbornly, but went to join Takeshi  
  
at the benches.   
  
He had just pulled out a riceball and began peeling the banana  
  
leaves off when he remembered something. Sasuke asked uncomfortably,  
  
"Takeshi....who---where's your father?"  
  
"....." Takeshi stopped sipping his juice. "My mom says he died."  
  
"Died?"  
  
"She told me that he died before I was born."  
  
"Didn't you ever bother to find out more?"  
  
"I asked Naruto-ojisan, and my mom's other friends....but I guess  
  
she asked them not to tell me. She goes all quiet whenever I ask  
  
about my father."  
  
Sasuke looked away. He refused to let himself think what he was  
  
dreading. "So to you, your father's dead."  
  
"I guess," Takeshi shrugged. "Never actually met the guy, how  
  
am I supposed to be sad?"  
  
Such simple words, yet such powerful ones.  
  
"....Sasuke-ojisan?" Takeshi asked timidly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Do you....like my mom?"  
  
Sasuke looked back to the kid sitting across from him, highly  
  
taken aback. ".......?"  
  
"Do you like my mom?" Takeshi asked again.  
  
"Well," Sasuke pondered his answer. "Yeah, I care about her, yeah." Why   
  
he was telling this to a seven-year-old child, he did not know. But  
  
somehow he wasn't at all uneasy talking to this kid.  
  
"No, like her as in like-like her."  
  
"Oh..." Sasuke thought. "I don't know. No. Not really, no." he  
  
said, but he was still very unsure. "She's...a friend." Friend.  
  
Strange how he still had that word in him.   
  
"Oh. Ok."  
  
"Why do you ask?"  
  
"...I don't know." Takeshi said, trying to not to care. "She  
  
just has lots of pictures of you two....like hugging and  
  
stuff."  
  
Sasuke didn't say anything. Since when did he allow people to  
  
take pictures of him? He wondered why he had not threatened to beat  
  
the hell out of anyone who tried to flashed a camera at him.  
  
"...I tried to ask her who it was in the pictures with her,"  
  
Takeshi continued. "But she just said, 'Nobody', and then  
  
tell me to go elsewhere."  
  
Sasuke was listening intently. *...Sakura..*  
  
"She would smile first," Takeshi said. "When she was looking at  
  
those pictures. Smile, and then cry. That's really weird. I don't know why.   
  
Do you?"  
  
"....iie." Sasuke lied, shaking his head.  
  
"Say, Sasuke-ojisan, where have you been all this time?"  
  
"Huh?" Sasuke searched his brain for an answer. "...away."  
  
"Oh," Takeshi thought it would be wise not to continue.  
  
They sat in silence for a moment, each one lost in his  
  
own thoughts. At long last, Sasuke said, "Let's continue  
  
a bit more, until it gets dark. You're making lots of  
  
progress," The kid was starting to grow on him after  
  
all.  
  
"I am?"  
  
Sasuke smiled a rare smile. "Yeah."  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey you two!" Sakura said as Sasuke and Takeshi came up  
  
the front steps of her house. She had just finished her  
  
mission and had met up with her son and Sasuke. "Perfect  
  
timing, hmm?"  
  
"Hi mom," Takeshi said, smiling.   
  
"So?" Sakura said, taking a box of candy out from her  
  
bag and handing it to an ecstatic Takeshi. "Sasuke-kun?  
  
How did he do?"  
  
"...OK." Sasuke shrugged.  
  
"Tell your mother what you've learned," Sakura said to  
  
Takeshi.  
  
"Fire jutsu!" Takeshi said through a mouthful of candy.  
  
"Grand Fireball, and Dragon Fire---"  
  
"Dragon Fire?" Sakura said, appalled. "But that's...that's  
  
a ledgendary jutsu, that is. Sasuke-kun...?"  
  
"He wanted to learn it really badly," Sasuke said. "So  
  
I thought I'd just teach him."  
  
"But it's far beyond his level!"  
  
"But I can do, it, mom, I really can!"  
  
"Well, almost." Sasuke corrected him. "He can produce a  
  
medium amount of flame around him. His direction of  
  
that flame is still off, but with a few more sessions,  
  
I think he can do it."  
  
Sakura, although she thought differently, smiled. "Thanks,  
  
Sasuke-kun."  
  
"...it's nothing."  
  
"When is dinner going to be ready?" Takeshi asked.  
  
"Right away, that is, once you've washed up and put all  
  
your gear away," Sakura said. "Now, go."  
  
Takeshi nodded and headed into the house.  
  
"That kid eats a lot," Sasuke said, chuckling.  
  
"He's been under the influence of his Naruto-ojisan,  
  
I'm afraid," Sakura frowned, then laughed it off.   
  
"I won't get my official list of new missions until  
  
another couple of weeks," Sasuke said. "So if you  
  
want to, I can train him for a little bit more,"  
  
"Really?" Sakura said. "I'm sure you do a much  
  
better job than I can,"  
  
"Yeah, well, he's a good kid." Sasuke said.  
  
"I appreciate it." Sakura smiled, and Sasuke's  
  
stomach made a funny lurching movement. A pink  
  
tinge appeared around his cheeks. *She's so  
  
beautiful.*  
  
"Um..." Sakura said shyly, "If you're not busy...  
  
would you...that is, if you can---stay for dinner?"  
  
"Oh," Sasuke didn't expect that. "Um---"  
  
"That is if you want to. Obviously you don't  
  
have to or anything---" Sakura said nervously. "But  
  
it's just that Takeshi and I would love to have you  
  
stay and---"  
  
"OK." Sasuke shrugged. "I can stay."  
  
"Great!" Sakura said. "C'mon, let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
"Dinner was amazing, mom!" Takeshi said, grinning widely  
  
and biting down a slice of chocolate cake for dessert. "And  
  
this cake, too!"   
  
"I'm glad you think so," Sakura said.   
  
"Dinner was great, Sakura." Sasuke agreed.  
  
"Thanks, Sasuke-kun..."  
  
They smiled at each other for a bit. Sakura looked back at  
  
her son. "Well, it's almost your bed time so you'd better  
  
get changed and go to sleep. You still have school tomorrow."  
  
"Ok," Takeshi swallowed the last bit of cake, licked his plate  
  
clean, and bid good night to his mother and Sasuke.   
  
"Where does he put it all?" Sasuke asked Sakura.  
  
"I've wondered that myself," Sakura said, grinning after him.  
  
"You've done a really good job raising him," Sasuke said to  
  
Sakura.  
  
"...well, I've had a lot of help," Sakura blushed. "I just  
  
do my best."  
  
"He's gonna be a great ninja."   
  
*It's not like him to acknowledge other people.* Sakura laughed.  
  
Sasuke looked at her. "What's so funny?"  
  
"...nothing." She was still giggling. "..it's just...you've changed."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Well, let's face it, you're not the type to recognize other  
  
people."  
  
"...." Sasuke wasn't even outraged by this statement. "I suppose. But  
  
your son is different."   
  
"I love him so much," she said. "He's one of the biggest things  
  
in my life. He really brightens up this house---no, this village."  
  
...brightened up. *Since I left, that is.* Sasuke noted. He  
  
mentally decided to push off the question of who was the father until  
  
later. He couldn't spoil her happiness right now. He just  
  
couldn't.  
  
"Sasuke-kun," she faced him and broke through his reverie. "I really  
  
can't thank you enough."  
  
"Don't worry about it," Sasuke waved his hand. "...glad to do it."  
  
She smiled that bright, gorgeous smile again, and he felt his heart  
  
thumping harder than usual. *She's right.* he thought. *I really  
  
have changed. But probably one thing that hasn't changed....* he  
  
looked into her eyes.   
  
*......is the way I feel about her right now.....*  
  
.:END CHAPTER III:.  
  
A/N: More to come. Please tell me what you where want this fic  
  
to possibly go, as I have no thoughts about it now. 


	4. No Way

Complexity  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
by summerdragonfly  
  
Chapter IV  
  
"No Way...!"  
  
A/N: Thanks for all your nice comments. And no, Sasuke is not that dense,  
  
he knows what's going on, but since he's being the stubborn little prat  
  
we all know and love, he's in denial and refuses to let himself think  
  
what he dreads the most. Don't worry, I know he's not that stupid XD  
  
Short chapter, sorry! ^^;;  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sakura was still the irresistible girl Sasuke always knew. Not only was  
  
she incredibly beautiful, but she was a magnet for people. Her charisma  
  
and personality allowed her to make easy friends and no one had anything  
  
bad to say about her. Sasuke found himself visiting her more often and  
  
reluctant to leave her at the end of the day. The way he was feeling  
  
was...strange. Strange, but familiar.  
  
And her son. What the heck was up with that? The little kid was so  
  
attached to Sasuke that it was scary. To be honest, Sasuke did really  
  
care for the kid as much as Takeshi cared for him. His looming suspicions  
  
were trying to get the best of him, but he'd rather confirm those  
  
suspicions through Sakura. And never, yet, had he found out a way  
  
to approach her.  
  
*I can't put this off. I just can't.* But one day as Sasuke was walking  
  
up to Sakura's house and swallowing up his courage(which was a funny  
  
thing, considering he had done much harder things that involved risking  
  
his life), something intervened again.   
  
Sasuke dodged five shuriken that came pelting out the door at him. This  
  
was no challenge of course, and as he turned to see who had tried  
  
to "attack" him, he was knocked flat off his feet in a tackle. Naturally,  
  
it was Takeshi.  
  
"What are you doing?" Sasuke said, trying to push the boy off of him.  
  
"So?" Takeshi said, standing up. "What do you think? Getting better,  
  
aren't I?"  
  
"......." Sasuke looked at him, almost sympathetic. "You're going to have  
  
to do much better than that as a Genin."  
  
"How many times must I tell you?" came a female's voice angrily, drawing  
  
closer to them. "We do not attack random strangers---" Sakura stopped  
  
as she saw Sasuke. "Oh, ohayoo, Sasuke-kun, I'm so sorry that Takeshi---"  
  
"That's all right," Sasuke said. "Attack like you mean to kill or  
  
you'll never stand a chance, right?"  
  
"....right..." Sakura said, smiling in a nostalgic way.   
  
"It's an improvement," Sasuke said to Takeshi. "But no where near  
  
my standard, of course."  
  
"You listen to everything Sasuke-ojisan says," Sakura said, sounding  
  
like a true mother. "And don't get in trouble."  
  
"Hai, okasan." Takeshi said in a dull tone.  
  
Sasuke could not suppress a smile at witnessing this.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey, Sasuke-ojisan,"  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Guess what?"  
  
"Just tell me."  
  
"No, you have to guess first!"  
  
"Just tell me!"  
  
"Guess!"  
  
"No."  
  
"Guess!!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Fine!" Takeshi grumbled. "Guess what jutsu Naruto-ojisan taught me?"  
  
"....." For a moment there, Sasuke feared that it would be the Sexy  
  
no Jutsu. He raised an eyebrow. "What?"  
  
To Sasuke's great relief, it was not the skill he was dreading. "Kage  
  
Bunshin no Jutsu!"  
  
"Oh," Sasuke nodded. "Good for you. That'll come in handy."  
  
"Bet you can tell the difference between my clones!"  
  
"....I think I can," Sasuke chuckled.  
  
"Well, so far no one can, not even my mom, or Naruto-ojisan!"  
  
"Why don't you try me?" Sasuke said with a sort of egotistical  
  
voice.  
  
Takeshi closed his eyes, and concentrated. Holding his arms up  
  
in the proper formation, he yelled, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"  
  
At once, at least five hundred clones surrounded Sasuke in the  
  
forest, each as identical as the other.   
  
Sasuke was mildly surprised. *....not bad for a kid his age...*  
  
He sighed. "All right."  
  
He closed his eyes and opened them a second later. When he opened  
  
them, however, they were red and had a single wheel in them. *Sharingan!*  
  
Sasuke scanned around, and after a couple of seconds, turned forty  
  
five degrees to his right and walked right up to the third row  
  
of clones. "You aren't fooling me," he said, looking straight into  
  
one of the clone's eyes.  
  
The illusion dropped, and the one Sasuke was looking at was the  
  
only Takeshi left. He pouted. "That's not fair,"  
  
Sasuke's eyes were normal now. "What's not fair?"  
  
"...I didn't think that you had it too." Takeshi said quietly.  
  
*...too....?*   
  
"Using the Special Red Eyes isn't fair! You could've at least  
  
told me that you had them too!"  
  
"...Special red---chotto matte," Sasuke said, kneeling down to  
  
Takeshi's height. "What do you mean, 'too'?"  
  
The boy hesitated. "....promise not to tell anyone? Especially  
  
my mom?"  
  
"...." Sasuke didn't understand, but he promised. "Yes."  
  
"Ok...." Takeshi closed his eyes.  
  
Sasuke held his breath. *It...can't..be...*  
  
But it was. When Takeshi opened his eyes, they were red and  
  
had a wheel in them, identical to Sasuke's a moment later.  
  
Sharingan.  
  
Sasuke stumbled over his own feet trying to get back up.  
  
"What---how---where---this is---"  
  
"I knew you would freak out!" Takeshi said, and his eyes  
  
were back to normal. "My mom thought she was dreaming and  
  
fainted when she saw me like this. That's why I've been  
  
keeping it a secret from her."  
  
Sasuke could not speak. This was unexplainable, it just  
  
couldn't be!  
  
"Well, at least now I know I'm not the only one!" Takeshi  
  
said happily. "Old man Kakashi has it, but it's only in  
  
one eye and it's all scarred and everything. But you're  
  
just like me, Sasuke-ojisan!"  
  
Sasuke could not smile back. He had to find something  
  
out. There was no denying it any longer. "Takeshi, come."  
  
"Where we going?" Takeshi asked, totally bewildered.  
  
"I have something to discuss with your mother."  
  
.:END CHAPTER IV:. 


	5. Truth

Complexity  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
by summerdragonfly  
  
Chapter V  
  
"Truth"  
  
A/N: Thanks to everyone, especially Lasaire for the corrections! ^^;; My Japanese is a  
  
little rusty, I must apologize XD And I did read somewhere that Sharingan can indeed  
  
tell the difference between shadow clones, so I'm sticking with that statement. =D However,  
  
to each his own, so I'm keeping it my way, ehehehe. I appreciate your view though. It's  
  
only a minor detail, as we really are just focusing on the fact that Takeshi does indeed  
  
have it. Besides, we never know how the Sharingan might advance over time. Yeah. O_o Anyway, in   
  
this chapter, I'm going to assume that Hinata has gotten less shy over time and is now a more   
  
sociable person. There's this chapter and about one or two more to go, so enjoy.   
  
Um...I have tried my best to keep Sasuke in character, and it is a horribly tedious  
  
task. He's not exactly the type to come out and confess all his feelings, is he? I think  
  
I've done about an A- job here but let's just say that he trusts Sakura a lot...  
  
yeah, that sounds good....XDDD  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Back at Sakura's house, Hinata had come over and the two were having a nice, female-ly  
  
discussion over tea. Hinata had become a dear friend of Sakura's, and had helped  
  
her out a lot over time. Today, the topic was not a favorite of Sakura's---Sasuke.  
  
"So what's going on with you and him anyway?" asked Hinata.  
  
"......." Sakura sighed. "I don't know. I honestly don't know. I wish I did."  
  
"He seems so attached to Takeshi."  
  
"Yes, they've been inseperable lately. It's so unlike him." Sakura laughed.  
  
"It's great to have him back," Hinata said.  
  
"Hai....I've...missed him." Sakura said in a small voice.  
  
No sooner had she said this when Sasuke and Takeshi burst into the door.  
  
Sasuke didn't look angry, but rather worried.   
  
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said rather surprised. "Back so soon? Has he done anything?  
  
What happened?"  
  
"...he didn't do anything wrong." Sasuke said. "But there's something I need  
  
to discuss with you. In private." he looked at Hinata.  
  
"Oh, of course," Hinata smiled. "I've got to be meeting Naruto-kun in a little  
  
bit. I'll see you later, Sakura. Come, Takeshi, let's go visit your uncle  
  
Naruto."  
  
Takeshi said to Sasuke, "You won't tell her, will you?"  
  
".....don't worry." Sasuke said.  
  
Wordlessly, Takeshi followed Hinata out of the door, leaving Sasuke and Sakura  
  
alone.  
  
"What's going on?" Sakura asked Sasuke worriedly. "Is it Takeshi?"  
  
"Yes." Sasuke said seriously. "I should've asked---no, told---you this sooner."  
  
A bad feeling welded up in the pit of Sakura's stomach. *This must be it.  
  
I was hoping I could put it off later, but it looks like I can't.*  
  
"I know." Sasuke said, looking at Sakura. "That Takeshi is my son."  
  
Sakura didn't answer. She closed her eyes and looked away.   
  
"Isn't he, Sakura?" Sasuke said. "I figured from the start. You know me  
  
better than anyone. You knew I knew."  
  
"I...did." Sakura said sadly.  
  
"Didn't you ever wonder why I didn't say anything?" Sasuke said fiercely.  
  
"I wanted to hear it from you. I wanted to you to tell me for sure."  
  
"....."  
  
"And you still can't, can you?"  
  
"How can you even asked me that question?!" Sakura stood up defiantly,  
  
tears brimming in her eyes.  
  
"You should've told me the first time I met Takeshi!"  
  
"I've been trying! Yondaime knows, Sasuke-kun, I've been trying!"  
  
"...some effort you've made." Sasuke scoffed.  
  
"Don't," Sakura said, shaking her head. "Don't you dare take that   
  
attitude with me."  
  
"....?" Sasuke did not expect Sakura to say this.  
  
"Do you know how much I've been struggling to this day?"  
  
"......."  
  
"I knew you knew the truth! It's always right there....he looks  
  
exactly like you, he acts like you, fights like you....and---and---"  
  
Sakura's eyes widened. "My goodness...he has it, doesn't he?" Sakura's voice  
  
was shaking. "The Sharingan, he has it?"  
  
Sasuke nodded silently.  
  
"I thought I was halluncinating the first time I saw it in  
  
him. I refused to let myself believe it."  
  
"Doshite?" Sasuke looked up.  
  
"....I didn't...I didn't want....him to be like you."  
  
Sasuke was taken aback. The same question was on his mind: Why?  
  
"...because..." Sakura sighed. "I was afraid. Afraid he would turn  
  
out like you, afraid that he would just turn his back on everything  
  
that was important to him....But I just couldn't squeeze the Uchiha  
  
out of him, I see. 'He's the spitting image of him, Sakura', people  
  
told me...."  
  
"So you didn't want my son to be like me?" Sasuke said, his tone  
  
rising. "An heir to the Uchiha bloodline has been here for seven  
  
years and you didn't tell me---"  
  
"My God, Sasuke, is that all you care about?!" Sakura said, her  
  
voice rising too. "The clan? The bloodline? Takeshi is a living,  
  
breathing human being, and I refuse to let you talk about my---  
  
about OUR son like that!"  
  
Sasuke was breathing heavily. Why was she telling him this? She  
  
knew that he wanted to restore his clan. But a little voice inside  
  
of him told him that she was right. Then he thought of something.  
  
"....seven, almost eight..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"...you knew, didn't you? That night, you already knew! That you were---"  
  
"Yes, I knew!" Sakura said.   
  
"Why didn't you tell me?!"  
  
"....don't you think I wanted to?! More than anything in the world!  
  
When you asked me to meet you in the park, I thought that it was perfect,  
  
as if fate had allowed me to tell you at the right time....I even  
  
prepared what I was going to say!"  
  
"And what was that?!"  
  
"...." Sakura could not stop the tears that she knew were coming. "'Isn't  
  
this wonderful, Sasuke-kun? We're going to do this together, Sasuke-kun, we're   
  
going to raise this child....aren't we?'" Sakura said in perfect  
  
memory.  
  
"......"  
  
"I was so happy..." Sakura said, smiling through her tears. "I thought you would  
  
be too...."  
  
After a while when no one said anything, Sakura said, "Why did you do it,  
  
Sasuke? Tell me the truth...why did you really do it?"  
  
"Why did you think?"  
  
"I don't know what to think...."  
  
Sasuke sighed, knowing he couldn't delay it anymore. After all, no one deserved  
  
the truth more than Sakura...he owed her the truth. "I can't believe how much  
  
I've changed."  
  
"I've noticed." Sakura said rather impatiently.  
  
"...back then, too..." Sasuke said. "I woke up one day to find myself...SETTLED...  
  
with friends, a well to do shinobi life and even a---"  
  
"Girlfriend?" Sakura asked, knowing Sasuke too well, and knowing that it was  
  
near impossible for him to say that word.  
  
"......." Sasuke nodded. "I had all these things....all these people...and  
  
I had even grown fond of them."  
  
Sakura was hardly believing that she was hearing this. *Maybe...I really  
  
do mean something to him.*  
  
"I remembered imagining what my life would be like if I weren't here. If  
  
I didn't have all these people...and then something struck me. It was   
  
possible. All of this really could be taken away from me."  
  
"How?"  
  
"...Itachi." Sasuke said, his voice growing darker and darker. "He already  
  
did it once, he could do it again.... Take away everything I had...I just didn't   
  
want that to happen again. No, I wouldn't let that happen again." He scoffed. "I even   
  
consulted myself as weak, caring so much about these other people, who I publically   
  
stated to have little meaning to me. But...but the thing that I hated most about myself was  
  
the part of me that cared so much about you."  
  
"...nani..?" Sakura was utterly bemused, and maybe a little angry, too.  
  
"...I didn't know what I would do if anything happened to you." Sasuke  
  
said. "I didn't want to think about what happened if you weren't there with me  
  
anymore. I just couldn't rest knowing that my ultimate opponent was still  
  
out there, and that he could destroy my life and take yours at anytime. I wanted to  
  
do something about it so badly...."  
  
"Why couldn't you have just told me that?" Sakura asked quietly. "I would've understood---"  
  
"I was....afraid." Sasuke said. "I didn't know how to tell you. Leaving  
  
you hanging was hard, but telling you the truth was harder."  
  
"It sure didn't look that way."  
  
"You think it was easy, don't you?" Sasuke said incredulously.  
  
"You had already left me once!" Sakura said. "Why would it be any harder to  
  
leave me again?"  
  
"Well, you're wrong." Sasuke said. "It wasn't easy to leave the most  
  
important thing in the world to me."  
  
"Then why didn't you act more like it?" Sakura said. "Back when we were  
  
still together...you never even told me you loved me. To this day,  
  
I still don't know."  
  
"I did." Sasuke said with extreme difficulty. "And I still do." He  
  
moved closer to her. "...more than you'll ever know."  
  
"Sasuke-kun...." Sakura could feel her face burning, he was dangerously  
  
close to her, their lips inching closer and closer.....  
  
BAM. Sasuke and Sakura broke apart at once, for someone had opened  
  
the door with a loud crash.  
  
.:END CHAPTER V:. 


	6. A Time To Think

Complexity  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
by summerdragonfly  
  
Chapter VI  
  
"A Time To Think"  
  
A/N: Um, Sasunaru is NOT implied in this chapter, kthnx. I don't write  
  
yaoi/yuri couples, not that there's anything wrong with that, I just don't  
  
write them. This is just an example that Sasuke and Naruto truly are friends,  
  
though nothing more in this story. Enjoy!   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Haruno Sakura lived in a traditional Japanese house, with sliding screen doors  
  
that were pretty much vulnerable to any type of abuse, especially rough  
  
openings.   
  
Apparently some people didn't care.  
  
Sakura looked at Sasuke, then went over to investigate the source of  
  
the noise. "......Naruto...." she said exasperately when she arrived  
  
there.  
  
Uzumaki Naruto was lying face flat on top of the screen door that he  
  
had crashed through. How he ended up there was anyone's guess.  
  
"Wha....?" Sasuke had just appeared, and his expression was the same  
  
as Sakura's.  
  
"Naruto, just what are you doing?" Sakura asked.  
  
"....uh...." Naruto got up and wiped himself off. "Um, Hinata-chan said  
  
that Sasuke had come over to talk to you and I wanted to talk to Sasuke  
  
about something, so uh---I came over and heard you guys yelling at  
  
each other and I wanted to listen---AAAH....I mean...um..."  
  
"You wanted to spy on us?" Sasuke said in an annoyed tone.  
  
"....more like eavesdrop," Sakura corrected.  
  
"No---well, sorta---ok, yeah," Naruto admitted sheepishly. "So I sort  
  
of LEANED against your door and uh...I guess I was leaning too much  
  
and it...kinda...um...collapsed," He finished in a small voice.   
  
Sasuke and Sakura just stared.  
  
"Sorry?" Naruto said uncertainly.  
  
Sakura shook her head. "...it's OK...." *Though I'm kind of annoyed...*  
  
"You said you wanted to talk to me?" Sasuke said.  
  
"Yeah," Naruto said. "If Sakura-chan wouldn't mind."  
  
"......." Sakura's head was hurting now. "No, not at all...." She  
  
held her hand to her temple.  
  
Sasuke made an instinctive movement towards her, but she said, "No,  
  
I'm OK...I think...I just need a lie-down...yes..."  
  
"Are you going to be all right?" Sasuke asked.  
  
"Yeah, just go and talk to him..."  
  
*Sakura....*  
  
* * *  
  
"So what do you want, anyway?" Sasuke asked ten minutes later.  
  
"I have a bone to pick with you." Naruto said, sounding uncharacteristically serious.  
  
"And what's that?"  
  
"Sakura."  
  
".....and?"  
  
"Look, I don't know what you're doing, but I don't like it at all."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"You show up, she gets all captivated by you again, and then you're yelling at each other."  
  
"....."  
  
"You wanna tell me what's going on?" Naruto demanded.  
  
Sasuke knew that he should trust Naruto, but the whole situation was still very uncomfortable for them all. "...I don't know."   
  
Naruto sighed. "Are you two....uh....again?"  
  
Sasuke shook his head. "I don't see how.....how she could ever forgive me."  
  
Naruto thought long and hard. "Well, Sakura-chan's a forgiving person."  
  
"Not when it comes to this."  
  
"You know, you're not the only person who's changed."  
  
*The moron has a point.* Sasuke thought.   
  
Naruto saw the way Sasuke was comtemplating, and said quickly, "Don't get  
  
the wrong idea or anything...Sakura-chan's just a friend now." he was  
  
blushing a little.  
  
".....oh." Sasuke knew. *Hinata.*  
  
"Anyway---" Naruto continued hurriedly. "Everyone's really confused about you two,  
  
and uh...."  
  
"Why should it be anyone's business what goes on with Sakura and me?" Sasuke said.  
  
"Sorry to burst your bubble...." Naruto said. "But...everyone...loves Sakura. She's sort of become the  
  
image of a different type of strength and determination in this village...and..."  
  
"They all hate me?"  
  
"No. They worship you."  
  
"Then they'd stay out of this."  
  
Naruto shrugged. "I just don't want to see Sakura-chan hurt or anything like  
  
that, you know."  
  
*I don't want to see her hurt either...* Sasuke thought. *That's the last thing  
  
that I want....*  
  
"Tell me something, Sasuke." Naruto said suddenly.  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"...do you really love Sakura?"   
  
Sasuke did not know how to respond to this. He thought that the only person who  
  
should know that he loved Sakura was Sakura herself.   
  
Naruto thought that he was starting out too big, and said, "...uh..like care  
  
about her and stuff."   
  
"I do." Sasuke said, and before he knew it, he was actually telling Naruto  
  
what was on his mind. "I don't ever want her to be sad....not if I can help it.  
  
I want to see her smiling...always. I don't want to her to hurt, and it  
  
kills me that I'm always somehow the cause of that..."  
  
"......."  
  
"...if something's bothering her, I have to help her....I wouldn't do the  
  
same for anybody...Sakura....Sakura....is different."  
  
*Is this really...Sasuke?* Naruto thought.  
  
"I want her to be happy."  
  
"We all do."  
  
"...maybe there's something wrong with the way I feel."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"...I told myself a long time ago that feelings and emotions will only  
  
make me weak. But now..."  
  
"You're never going to learn, are you?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"SHE loves YOU, man." Naruto said in the voice that one would use to  
  
explain something very simple to someone very dumb. "And since I  
  
don't have a two-watt lightbulb for a brain, prior to popular  
  
belief, I can tell as can anyone else that you love her, too."  
  
"And what makes you so sure?"  
  
"Do you hear yourself when you talk? 'I want her to be happy...'   
  
I can't believe that I'm hearing this from you."  
  
Sasuke shook his head. "But I shouldn't be feeling this way."  
  
"Who cares?" Naruto said loudly. "What are you going to now if  
  
you're not going to be with her? You've already accomplished your  
  
revenge...do you really want to leave her? I don't think you  
  
would've came back if you did."  
  
After a while when Sasuke didn't say anything, Naruto continued,  
  
"Besides, everyone's saying that you three are like a family  
  
already. You love your son, you love her, what's there to question?"  
  
Sasuke was about to open his mouth and argue when Naruto  
  
countered, "And don't even say that Sakura-chan wouldn't forgive  
  
you because that's stupid. She was never angry with you, Sasuke,   
  
and she's more happy that you're back then frustrated that  
  
you left."  
  
"......"  
  
"You did what I could never do, Sasuke, and you won her over.   
  
She loves you as much as you love her, you baka, and we'll  
  
all get to breathe again once you get that through your head."  
  
Sasuke stared. Here he was, getting told off by Naruto. Uzumaki  
  
Naruto. "Did you rehearse this?" he asked.  
  
"Uh...kinda....are you convinced yet?"  
  
"....."  
  
"...I'm going to go now, but you'd better think about what  
  
I said."  
  
* * *  
  
The wind blew his dark bangs across his eyes as he sat at the  
  
familiar bench, completely lost in his own thoughts. It did  
  
not help when cherry blossoms got picked up in the wind  
  
and one landed on his leg.  
  
Sakura.  
  
*Goddamit, why is this so hard?* He thought to himself angrily.  
  
*Even I don't know what I want...*  
  
As he thought about it more and more, he realized that his  
  
feelings for Sakura truly were genuine. There was no denying  
  
this. No matter how hard he tried to bury those images of her  
  
smiling and those memories of them being together, laughing  
  
and just enjoying each other's presence.  
  
The way his heart thumped and that inevitable pink tinge  
  
across his face was not controllable when he was with her, and  
  
the everlasting wish for her not to be sad somehow could not  
  
go away.  
  
This was, as much as he was uncomfortable about it, love.  
  
And it didn't matter what others had to say about it, did it?  
  
Why did he care if people thought he was "weak"....well, he  
  
could just prove them wrong the hard way...but no...Sakura  
  
wouldn't want him to be like that...  
  
As long as she was happy, as long as Takeshi was happy, there  
  
was nothing else that could've troubled Sasuke. As he sat there  
  
gazing blankly into the distance, it became clear to him at  
  
last that he had found truly precious people. An empty part  
  
of him that had not been filled since the murder of his family  
  
all those years ago was now filled.  
  
For the first time in nearly twenty years, he was content. His  
  
deed was done, what happened had happened, and all there was  
  
now were these people....Sakura. Takeshi. Naruto. Kakashi. And  
  
all those people he'd come to acknowledge. Called companions,  
  
maybe even friends.  
  
And as he got up and started walking once more, his conflicting  
  
thoughts about love and emotions along with strength and  
  
pride were conflicting no more. In order to have strength, you  
  
need love, and that love for the people that are important  
  
to you.   
  
He smiled as the sakura blossoms continued to blow in  
  
the gentle breeze of that fine Autumn day.  
  
.:END CHAPTER VI:.  
  
A/N: Ugh. I didn't like that too much. It's weird to write  
  
Sasuke contemplating about feelings. Almost too weird. Hope  
  
you liked it though. One more chapter to go! =D 


	7. Happy Endings

Complexity  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
by summerdragonfly  
  
Chapter VII  
  
"Happy Endings"  
  
A/N: Final chapter of Complexity. Please do not ask for a sequel, as  
  
me writing one is very, very unlikely. However, you're welcome to imagine  
  
a sequel as you see fit in your minds XDDD   
  
Special note for this chapter: I'm going to say that Sakura's parents  
  
died when she was a teen. Just for added drama. XD  
  
Final Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own Naruto in anyway.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"What are you doing?" said Sasuke. "Get that thing away from me."  
  
Sakura smiled as she watched a video recorded of their group of friends  
  
years ago.  
  
"Oh come on," came Naruto's voice, obviously from behind the camera.   
  
"Lighten up, will ya? It's called memories."  
  
"It's called putting your life in danger," Sasuke said, advancing toward  
  
the camera. He stopped suddenly, and looked behind him.   
  
Sakura was hanging on him, her arms around his waist in a loose hug.   
  
She just smiled up at him. "Hi," she said brightly.  
  
"Sakura-chan! You're here!" Naruto said excitedly. "Just in time, too,  
  
he was about to break my camera---"  
  
"I don't like cameras," Sasuke said curtly.  
  
"Anata," Sakura said adoringly. "You don't like a lot of things,"  
  
"......." Sasuke put his face to Sakura's ear and whispered something.  
  
Present-day Sakura turned off the television and smiled through  
  
tears. "I remember what you told me that day," she said aloud.  
  
*You were so embarrased when you told me...you turned bright red.  
  
I said you don't like a lot of things....you said that..."I like  
  
YOU."*  
  
*Sasuke-kun....whatever you choose to do....just please...be  
  
happy.*  
  
* * *  
  
"I'm sorry......I'm sorry."  
  
Sasuke said aloud, very subconsciously. The words were coming from  
  
him, but he did not feel them. He was never good at speaking  
  
"from the heart". How was he supposed to get her to.....forgive  
  
him....now?  
  
*I can't belive what I'm doing. I'm rehearsing this.*  
  
He didn't even rehearse what he said the night he had left her...  
  
but she...was different. Every word she said she meant, everything  
  
she practiced to get just right. Because...she loved him.  
  
Several times he had thought to himself how lucky he was to be  
  
loved by someone like Sakura. He never admitted this to anyone,  
  
of course, but he knew it was true, and he could never shake  
  
it away. When he was with her, he smiled. She made him....  
  
happy.  
  
Her and Takeshi, his son, his own flesh and blood. They were  
  
the people that he could finally call family...since he  
  
was a child.  
  
*That's it.* He stood up. *I'm not doing this anymore....I'm  
  
not like her. I've just got to...say it.*  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning....  
  
"Mom?" said Takeshi, looking up at his mother.  
  
"What is it, Takeshi?" Sakura said, snapping out of her train  
  
of thought.  
  
"Are you...okay?"  
  
"Of course...why wouldn't I be?"  
  
"You seem sad."  
  
Sakura looked at her son. "Here, come sit down."  
  
Takeshi went and took a seat across from her. "You know what  
  
I do when I'm sad?"  
  
"What do you do?"  
  
"I go and throw shuriken at the wall."  
  
Sakura even laughed a little. *....so like his father.*  
  
There was a knock on the door.  
  
Takeshi and Sakura looked at each other.  
  
"Who could that be this early in the morning?" She asked.  
  
Takeshi shrugged.  
  
Sakura got up and went to answer the door. To her mild surprise,  
  
Sasuke was the door. She had half expected him to take off  
  
again.   
  
"....good morning." He said.  
  
"Morning." Sakura tried meaning it, but friendly conversations  
  
were not what she wanted to have today.  
  
"Can I talk you?"  
  
".....all right." Sakura tried staying tough. *I can't put myself  
  
up for another fall. Not again. I just can't.*  
  
"Sasuke!" Takeshi said excitedly.  
  
"Hey, kid." Sasuke even smiled.  
  
"Takeshi, your uncle Sasuke and I have to have a little talk now,"  
  
Sakura said. "Why don't you go visit Naruto and Hinata today? I'm  
  
sure you can learn new things."  
  
"Why can't I listen?"  
  
"Because it's not meant for you."  
  
"Who's it meant for?"  
  
"....we'll be finished talking soon, and then I can spend the whole  
  
day with you. Just give us fifteen minutes, ok?" Sakura said,  
  
trying to negotiate.  
  
"....fine..." Takeshi rolled his eyes and stomped out of the house.  
  
"So," Sakura said. "I kinda figured that you'd be far away from  
  
here by now."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"What else can I expect?"  
  
"Sakura, I don't run off every time things get difficult for me."  
  
"Well, you've been demonstrating that action for as long as I've  
  
known you."   
  
"......."  
  
"So what else is there left to say? I don't even know who you are  
  
anymore, Uchiha Sasuke. You told me you loved me last time."  
  
"......."  
  
"Well, do you?"  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
"I hate this; you always answering my questions with more questions.  
  
Get to the point...and no more dodging the truth, please."  
  
"I do love you, ok, Sakura?" Sasuke spluttered out. "Is that what  
  
you want to hear?"  
  
"Dammit, Sasuke! Is that what I want to hear....I want to hear to truth. From your...  
  
heart. Don't tell me you love me just because you think that's what I  
  
want to hear."  
  
There was no more working his way around the truth. He had to speak  
  
from his true feelings. Right now. *....how do I feel about her...right   
  
now? ....I'm a little pissed since she isn't making this easier. But...  
  
it was never easy in the first place. ....no. Nothing else matters  
  
right now. Just her...and how I feel about her. What I have to say  
  
to her.*  
  
"....after....after my clan was wiped out...." He began. "I thought  
  
I'd never love anyone, anything ever again. I never knew that I'd  
  
meet people like you and Naruto...people I could actually call  
  
friends."  
  
Sakura was silent.  
  
"...after all that time went by...and those missions...we all got  
  
closer. But you...you had always loved me. I don't know why I never  
  
noticed it earlier...and when you actually told me that...I still  
  
left you." (A/N: The Chapter 181 incident.)  
  
Sasuke continued, "And then when I returned, we all got even  
  
closer, made stronger bonds...but you were different. I saw you  
  
in a different way. And when your parents passed away...and you  
  
showed up at my door..."  
  
Sakura looked away. *Why does he have to bring that up now?*  
  
"You were...sad. It was raining." Sasuke was remembering it in  
  
his mind. "I remember that I didn't know what you wanted me  
  
to do. You said you had no one else to go to...and that you...  
  
needed me. I didn't even invite you in, I didn't know what to  
  
do at all. I saw that you were trying your best not to cry,  
  
that you didn't want to show me any tears. You had shown  
  
me so many when we were kids...you didn't want to do that anymore."  
  
"......"  
  
"I remember....thinking...that I wanted you to feel safe. That  
  
whenever you were hurt, you could come to me like you did  
  
then. That if you felt the need to cry, you could cry in  
  
front of me, and know that it was OK, that I would...be  
  
there for you. And at that moment...I....fell in love."  
  
"So that's why you let me spend the night at your house  
  
that time..."  
  
Sasuke shook his head. "Not only that. You were also my...  
  
friend. Like I said, I wanted you to feel safe. I didn't  
  
ever think about having a relationship with you, but---"  
  
"Your feelings are something you can't control." Sakura  
  
said. "I know that too well."  
  
"Sakura," Sasuke said seriously, walking up to her. "I've  
  
loved you for over ten years---"  
  
"And I've been loving you all my life! ....Since before  
  
I can remember."  
  
"I know that," Sasuke said. "And I hate myself for not realizing  
  
how much you meant to me early on. When the village got invaded  
  
in our late teens and you were hurt...I thought I would...  
  
die. I didn't want to see you hurt, I never want to see  
  
you hurt. You've stayed by my bedside many times. I wanted to  
  
be there for you."  
  
"You WERE there when I woke up. You...kissed me." Sakura smiled.  
  
"The first time I ever did that." Sasuke said. "I just wanted  
  
you to know how much I loved you...but I don't think I ever  
  
told you that."  
  
They were both silent for a long time, Sasuke appalled at what  
  
he was saying. But he didn't care anymore. At least...he  
  
thought he didn't.  
  
But there was still one thought haunting Sakura. "Sasuke..."  
  
"....?"  
  
"I have to know....would you have...fallen in love with me  
  
even if I weren't a kunoichi...?" She said uncertainly.  
  
"When I lost my family...who were all ninjas....that was  
  
agony beyond anything I could imagine. I just couldn't forget  
  
about that day. It was hard to want to live for anything  
  
other than revenge...then I met you and Naruto. You, in   
  
particular...you made my life brighter."  
  
Sakura suddenly remembered what Kakashi had told her. *"In  
  
spite of his loss, he still fell in love with you."*  
  
"You being a ninja or not was never in the question. After  
  
falling in love with you, I didn't want to marry someone because she   
  
was a ninja...I actually wanted to love her for who she was...and that's   
  
you."  
  
"Sasuke-kun...."  
  
"So you see...in your case...I would've fallen in love with you  
  
even if you weren't a kunoichi." Sasuke said.  
  
Sakura was crying now. She felt really stupid, but she couldn't  
  
stop them.  
  
"Ah, Sakura, I've made you cry again---" Sasuke said, startled.  
  
"No, no," Sakura said, shaking her head. "It's not your fault,  
  
it's just that I---never mind,"  
  
"....I just want you to know," Sasuke said. "It was never easy  
  
for me to leave you in the first place. But...coming back and  
  
seeing you and our son....it was...gratifying. I wish I never  
  
had to leave in the first place, so that I could've seen him  
  
grow up....but I'm so glad to be back now...I wish I could just  
  
erase that."  
  
"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura put her arms around him, sobbing into  
  
his chest. "Thank you....for falling in love with me!"  
  
Sasuke kissed the top of her head and put his arms around  
  
her. "....thank YOU for loving me back."   
  
Sakura hugged him tighter.  
  
"Oy, you two!" came a voice at the door. Naruto was standing  
  
there, along with Takeshi, Kakashi, and what seemed like  
  
half the town. "Stop confusing us, eh? You back together or  
  
not?"  
  
".....yeah." Sasuke said, his arm still around Sakura.   
  
"....Finally." Naruto said, and the people behind him laughed.  
  
"I thought I was going to have to resort to drastic measures  
  
or something."  
  
"Yeah!" Takeshi piped up, walking over to Sasuke and Sakura.  
  
"Oh," Sakura remembered. "Takeshi, there's something I have  
  
to tell you---it's about your fa---"  
  
"Yeah, I know." Takeshi said.  
  
"You...do?" Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other.  
  
"I figured it out when...OTOSAN---" Takeshi looked at Sasuke,  
  
who blinked blankly back. "---First came back into town."  
  
"....but...." Sakura said.  
  
"Plus, Naruto-ojisan told me."  
  
"What?!" Sakura said. "Naruto, I told you not to---"  
  
"Calm down, Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "The kid already  
  
knew, he was just asking for....clarification."  
  
Sakura was a little vexed, but left the matter alone  
  
anyway.  
  
"So when can we expect a wedding?" Jiraiya said. "Tsunade's  
  
been a lousy Hokage, anyway, wouldn't kill her to do something  
  
useful---"  
  
"Hey!" Tsunade said, and Jiraiya fell silent.   
  
"Seriously though," Sakura said in a mock voice, turning toward  
  
Sakura. "When am I getting a wedding anyway?"  
  
Sasuke smiled at her, then kissed her left hand at her ring  
  
finger. "You and I are as good as married," he said. "The  
  
official date won't matter."  
  
Sakura made a thinking face, and then turned back to him. "Sounds  
  
good to me."   
  
Sasuke smiled at her once more, and they locked lips in front  
  
of all the people.   
  
Kakashi was still buried in his book. "Huh? What happaned? They  
  
getting married now?"  
  
Everyone laughed and applauded, while Takeshi tugged at Sasuke's  
  
shirt. Sasuke and Sakura broke apart, and their son said, "We  
  
finally have that family you secretly told me about, Dad."  
  
Sasuke got a pink tinge across his face. "Uh....um...."  
  
Sakura pulled him toward her, and said to Takeshi, "Your father's  
  
just being shy......he knows he wants a family like ours." She  
  
rested her head on his shoulder and beamed.  
  
Naruto looked upon his two best friends, who were finally  
  
happy at last. And as Hinata found his hand and held it, smiling  
  
at him, he couldn't help thinking:  
  
Love truly is complex.  
  
~OWARI~  
  
A/N: Ahh...so lame, but I had to make the story tie in together. ^^;;  
  
Hopefully you didn't think it was such a bad chapter as I do. I hope you enjoyed reading   
  
this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. =^_^= 


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